The bigger deal here is that the Minnesota Wild won on Tuesday.
They’re fighting for their playoff lives, and if the St. Louis Blues hold on against the Colorado Avalanche, their odds of making the postseason go up exponentially.
The Wild also generated a remarkable achievement; by beating the Blackhawks 4-1, they swept their five-game season series against Chicago. This gives you an idea of just how rare this accomplishment is:
Per @EliasSports #mnwild wins all 5 season gms vs CHI becoming 1st #NHL team to win every game in a season vs CHI since BOS won 8 in 1938-39
— Minnesota Wild PR (@mnwildPR) March 30, 2016
The @mnwild won their 6th straight game overall & improved to 5-0-0 in their season series vs. Chicago (CHI: 0-4-1). pic.twitter.com/OFVK7207iD
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) March 30, 2016
Pretty impressive, right?
Yet ... the loudest noises weren’t coming from celebrating Wild fans. Instead, you could almost hear the hand-wringing from Chicago circles after another tough loss and the murky near-future for Duncan Keith.
People are worried about a wide variety of issues, from the team’s overall viability to more concrete concerns such as the Blackhawks slipping into the wild card (and having to face the Los Angeles Kings in what could be a scary first-round series).
Hawks four points up on Preds entering tonight and likely won't have Keith for a while. Odds of CHI/LA first-round matchup just skyrocketed.
— Matt Larkin (@MLarkinHockey) March 30, 2016
Here’s a sampling of some of the nail-biting reactions:
Uh, maybe ... fear any opponent they draw. West filled with bad matchups for a struggling team. https://t.co/DuTPCEIB6p
— Brian Hedger (@BrianHedger) March 30, 2016
Christian Ehrhoff has been a nightmare tonight. #Blackhawks
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) March 30, 2016
It's pretty simple, really. They lost too much and couldn't replace it all. Happens in the cap world. https://t.co/wz5vdL2Xc3
— Brian Hedger (@BrianHedger) March 30, 2016
Not to mention a no-comment:
Duncan Keith unavailable for comment. #Blackhawks
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) March 30, 2016
Then again, the Blackhawks seemed down before and fought back just about every time. We’ll find out soon enough if they shake this off or if we see some rare stumbles from this juggernaut franchise.
And, hey, even a big Keith suspension could have silver linings:
It's a cynical way of looking at it, but Duncan Keith getting 5 games off before the postseason wouldn't be the worst thing for #Blackhawks.
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) March 30, 2016
Also:
Quenneville says Brent Seabrook should be fine to play Friday vs. Winnipeg. #Blackhawks
— Tracey Myers (@Tramyers_NHL) March 30, 2016